Tag Archives: sauerkraut

This is our recipe for baked sauerkraut, an important holiday recipe. It is a combination of Richard's Mom, Anne's, recipe and my own. Richard's Mom did not use apples in her's but I do. I like the balance it gives the sauerkraut, but they are optional.

1 bag or large jar of sauerkraut — I use somewhere between 32-48 ounces

6 strips of bacon, cut across the grain into lardons

2 medium onions, sliced thin

2 medium apples or 4 small, sliced thin, optional

Bacon fat or lard if necessary

1 tbsp caraway seed

1 tsp celery seed

2-3 tbsp flour

1/3 cup water

salt

pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Open sauerkraut, wash to taste and drain over sink. Repeat to taste as necessary.

Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp.

Remove lardons with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Cook onions and apples in bacon fat until soft.

Add more bacon fat or lard if it looks dry -- there should be about 2-3 tbsp fat in the pan.

Sprinkle with caraway, celery seed, and flour and cook until bubbly, stirring, about 1 minute.

Add water and stir to combine.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove apples and onions from heat and mix in bacon and sauerkraut.

Spread into 9x11 pan, or similar size.

Cover, either with lid or aluminum foil and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Remove cover and let brown for 15 minutes.

Notes

We serve this with fresh -- not smoked -- Polish sausage on the holidays. To cook the Polish, first boil it, then cut it into 3 inch pieces and bake. If you're low on oven space, the Polish can be baked in the sauerkraut by nestling it into the kraut.